Articles and Blogs

The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) recently issued a proposed rule that adds to and amends the Anti-Kickback Statute safe harbors and provides guidance regarding the Civil Monetary Penalty rules for beneficiary inducements and gainsharing (“Proposed Rule”).1 The Proposed Rule addresses several issues regarding the way providers interact... READ MORE

Executive Summary On October 17, 2014, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) announced1 the extension of the November 2, 2011 interim final rule with comment that established waivers of some federal fraud and abuse laws as applied to Accountable Care Organizations (“ACOs”) participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (the “Program”). Without... READ MORE

Ebola concerns continue to grow this week as two nurses who cared for an Ebola patient in Texas test positive for the virus. Hospitals, physician offices, clinics, emergency medical services (“EMS”), physical therapy offices and other health care providers, regardless of location, need to prepare now for a possible Ebola patient. Care for an Ebola patient... READ MORE

WEBINAR As we move into the second year of open enrollment through the Health Insurance Exchanges, it is time to revisit the issue of Premium Support Programs, an issue that had a bit of a rollercoaster ride during last year’s open enrollment. Has the dust settled enough that you can safely implement a Support... READ MORE

Selecting the most qualified real estate developer for a health care development project starts with a properly conceived and structured Request for Proposal (“RFP”). Health care real estate projects typically have longer project timelines because there are numerous additional considerations involved in such projects. A properly crafted RFP requires thoughtfulness, foresight and experienced legal... READ MORE

As American health care gains some experience with Ebola patients, it is time to take the lessons learned from the facilities that first cared for patients with this disease to prepare your facility: The first domestic transmission of Ebola has been confirmed.  Donning and removing personal protective equipment (“PPE”) is a key risk for... READ MORE

Deep Dive #1:  The Proposed QAPI Standard The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released revised home health conditions of participation (“proposed CoPs”) on October 6, 2014.  Home health agencies (“HHAs”) and the health systems or providers with which they work should take a close look at the proposed changes, as they will... READ MORE

Executive Summary On August 22, 2014, the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) released its final rule rescheduling hydrocodone combination products (“HCPs”) from Schedule III to Schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act (“Final Rule”). This Final Rule went into effect on October 6, 2014 and applies to all persons who manufacture, distribute, dispense, import, export,... READ MORE

Executive Summary While the notion of malicious hacking of a medical device has been a recent topic in fictional  television shows, it became a public reality in October 2013 when former Vice President Dick Cheney revealed that his cardiologist modified Cheney’s heart defibrillator to disable a wireless feature and prevent hacking of the device.... READ MORE

Background Recent public comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) shed light on the frustrations faced by physician-owned hospitals trying to expand.  On July 14, 2014, CMS issued a proposed rule to make changes to the data sources that may be used for physician-owned hospital expansion requests under the physician self-referral... READ MORE